home sweet home

I found a house!!!

Three cheers for new and improved living circumstances...

Admittedly it is scary to talk about the kind of rent we'll have to pay, but Chez Muso is going to absolutely rock. I can feel it! I spent a crazy day yesterday after having woken up at 5am, running around viewing zillions of properties, and it turned out that the first one was definitely the best. It's amazing how much rents have gone up by since I last lived here. Freaks me out!

*sigh* I'm so happy. The little home-maker in me is really looking forward to making this place great. It has so much potential already. Add a bit of personal style to it and we will definitely have a chilled out abode to return to at the end of a hard day.
Bay windows, cute back garden, huge kitchen & bathroom, great area, and fully furnished right down to the conran toast rack I spied in the cupboard (a device I consider to be one of the worst and most pointless inventions of man and would never use, but it's nice that they considered our toast requirements. Makes me like them). It's strange the things that become your priorities when you look for a place after years of student hovels. A big fridge/freezer, wooden floors and clean new bathroom had me more excited than I think is entirely appropriate.

So we get to move in the moment Tamar gets back from South Africa. I'm very scared about all the costs when we first move in, so today is my day for drumming up more work. Pro-active me...

the simple things in life are free

my dad is funny!
I got my phone upgraded for free the other day (I love the modern materialistic world! I don't even really care about my phone, as long as it works and preferably doesn't break or get stolen I'm kinda happy. But every now and again they say "by the way, would you like a better one for free?" and I say, "um. sure!") ... anyway I digress.... I got all excited about the fact that for the first time I have a funky camera type thingy on my phone and promptly sent one to my Dad back in Australia to say "halloo, it's me, your daughter. Alive and well in sunny London. And look! I have pixel technology".

Anyway, it seems he is just as childishly excited as me by this new and wonderful technology and sent me back one this morning just to say, "Ha! I can see you!"

I love my Dad. We have very similar bizarre senses of humor. It's always nice to get normal every day texts from Oz. Makes me feel not so far away. I'm making a real effort to stay in better contact with my friends and family. It's important I think for all concerned.

Had my first ever performance on the stage of the Royal Opera House the other night. What a moment. A really hard play too. Was concentrating so damn hard, especially since I was on the outside so if I fuck up there will be a whole couple of thousand people to see! Anyway, it went really well. It's funny how people complain so much about this piece or that piece being boring or whatever... I am always just so happy to be doing what I'm doing and getting paid to do what I love that I never really care. Even if I do have to spend 3 and 1/2 hours going oompah-oompah at least I can make it interesting and make sure I make it enjoyable for an audience. THAT is called being a musician!

Cannot possibly describe how much I enjoy going to work in that place. Going to Covent Garden every day and wandering through the piazza on my way to play great music with great people. It's a very very cool feeling.

For some reason I'm really dizzy today. Could have something to do with the fact that I completely ran out of money yesterday and didn't eat very much then woke up at some ungodly hour this morning and couldn't get back to sleep.

Am just praying that my travelcard runs out tomorrow not today otherwise I could have a real problem getting to rehearsal tonight. Eek...

Some day I shall look back on these moments with fond memories. Right now I would really appreciate just a wee bit more cash in my life!

Ok, am off to watch Australia get whipped in the Ashes. Don't quite know how to feel about it. Dual nationality and all that. Am kind of bummed that the Aussies are losing, but at the same time kind of pleased that England will get at least one chance to have a moment of sporting glory. Lord knows they don't have many!

jive on a sunday afternoon

I hate feathers.

Why do they make me sneeze like that??? I slept on the sofa last night in order to be a lovely considerate houseguest and donate my room to Maddy. Rats came up through the water pipes a week or so ago... and are currently partying under the floorboards in her room at precisely 3am every night, so she had been sleeping downstairs for a few nights and was starting to look peaky. I figured it was my turn.
I forgot about the feathers though. This sofa is insanely comfortable but nevertheless I woke up this morning like a little ball of clogginess. It wasn't attractive. And I had bad dreams again last night so I was knackered already by 9am. It was evening rehearsals and recording today though so I got to vegetate in a very laid back muso type way for the morning whilst my brain slowly returned to the realm of humanity.
Stupid damn rats. The floorboards are getting ripped up on Monday to get rid of our furry friends, but until then I can see that I'm going to have to sleep on the couch again at least once.

On sunday afternoon Amanda, Mike and I wandered through a balmy end-of-summer London haze down on the south bank of the Thames and ended up sitting for hours at an outside cafe in Gabriel's Wharf idly watching a swing class go on under the pergoda there. It was so goddamn picturesque. Listening to Ella Fiztgerald and watching a skinny unattractive guy with one arm deftly spin this girl around like he was Fred Austaire. And none of them gave a shite who saw them. I love that.

Wales also rocked. By the way. Because, y'know I hadn't mentioned it since I went there a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty. But I have to say it isn't in my top 5 picturesque world locations. Sorry Welsh people! Not meant to be an insult. But my top 5 are really hard to beat.
Have to write them some other time though because right now I have to sleep!